This post is part of a series called Thankful Thursday, where I list some things to feel thankful for. To some extent, focusing on what is wrong appears to come naturally to most people, who often complain, complain, complain when they get together with family and friends. (I’m no exception, that’s for sure.) So focusing on things to feel thankful for seems like good spiritual practice, a way to counterbalance the tendency toward negative thinking.
Lunch with My Blogging Friend Judy
One of the great pleasures of blogging is making friends with different folks, some far, some near. I love getting glimpses into their everyday lives—to see what it looks like where they live, to read about their comings and goings, to see pictures of what they eat, to learn which books they’ve read. And every once in a while, I get to meet a blogging friend in person. This is always a treat.
On Tuesday, I met Judy, of NewEnglandGardenAndThread, for lunch at Stonewall Kitchen in York in southern Maine. This is the second time we have met. Last year we got together at beautiful Bedrock Gardens in New Hampshire, and what a great time we had.
In September, southern Maine is still a busy place, and Stonewall Kitchen is on Route 1, the lovely but clogged-with-traffic corridor that goes along the Maine coast. Knowing this, I suggested getting together early, at 11:00 a.m. (This turned out to be a good plan because around noon the cafè became very busy.) With minimum fuss, we were able to order our food and find a place outside on the veranda to eat our lunch. The dining is extremely casual, which meant we were able to sit on the veranda for about three hours.
I had a delicious salad with apples slivers, candied pecans, and dried cranberries. (Judy had the same thing.)
There might have been a pumpkin scone for dessert.
As we ate, we chatted about family, gardening, and exercise. I mentioned that the exercise bike really helps my creaky knees but that I have a hard time motivating myself to use it. Judy acknowledged that indoor exercise is boring, but she has made it a routine in her life, something she does at the same time every day. (Inspired by her example, I have used the exercise bike for the past two mornings. Before breakfast seems to work for me.)
Judy is a master gardener, and her sharp eyes spotted this tree not far from where we sat.
Neither of us had ever seen such a tree. After taking a picture on her phone, Judy was able to get an identification—a magnolia tree. Those red pods are both unusual and striking.
As if getting together with Judy wasn’t treat enough, she also brought me some plants. More hydrangeas for my shady yard—she gave me some last year, and to my utter delight they have thrived—and some oh so lovely Japanese grass that does well in dry shade. Holy cats, I was thrilled to get these gifts. Next week, they will be planted.
Many, many thanks, Judy, both for your delightful company and for the plants.
Thankful Posts from Other Blogging Friends
A Curious Introvert from Cimple extols the virtues and value of Time. Amen!
Ju-Lyn from Touring My Backyard celebrates her favorite uncle’s imminent return to his home from the hospital.
Barbara from Thistles and Kiwis enjoys two new shirts with snappy designs—one with cats and the other with cassettes.
Eliza from Eliza Waters celebrates zinnias and dahlias from her fall garden.
Xenia from Tranature features a walk with her adorable dog on a beautiful beach. Oh, that dog’s happy face made me smile.
With a friend, Carol Ann of Fashioned for Joy hikes to Assateague Island where there are grazing ponies, salt marshes, and sand dunes. Who could ask for anything more?
Notes From the Hinterland 
That’s so cool, to meet another blogger! I’ve met a couple, they have always been as nice and as interesting as they are in their blog posts.
You are so right. The ones I have met have been as nice and as interesting as they are online.
I’m delighted to hear that the two of you got together for lunch and a good chat. I’ve learned over the years that early lunch dates are the best. Just as your food arrives, the place starts to bustle.
It’s so nice of Judy to bring you more plants for your garden. I’m glad the two of you had fun.
You are exactly right. Early lunch dates are best. Just as our food arrived, the place did indeed start to bustle.
Excellent.
That pumpkin scone seems as though it would be as delightful as new plants and time to chat with an old friend!
Yes, indeed! A delightful time from beginning to end.
How cool, getting to meet a blogging friend! That’s something I long to do and hope I will in the future. A three-hour lunch, good conversation, new plants — wow, all things to be thankful for!
You bet! If ever you come to Maine..
We certainly did enjoy ourselves which left us both excited about doing it again. Wonderful weather, beautiful patio, good conversation, laughter, sharing of information, and delicious food sure made for a nice day. The opportunity to share plants from my garden with a friend is always a special treat. I’ll be thinking of you at 4:15 when I get on the treadmill. 🙂
Yes, yes! September seems to be a good time. Thanks to you, for the past few mornings I have been on my bike at 8:15. I inte d to continue with this routine.
Sounds like you had a wonderful time!
We certainly did. Would love to meet you sometime if it could arranged.
Geeze, I was in York Beach a few weeks ago, I should have written you! Next time we head to the coast, I’ll make sure to let you know!
Next time you come to Maine, if you have some free time, let me know. Often on family vacations, the days are too busy for additional outings. But if you do have time, that would be grand.
This one really was a full schedule!
Yes, vacations are often like that.
We often joke we need a vacation after vacation!
I know the feeling.
A delightful afternoon, in so many ways.
It certainly was!
What a wonderful way to meet up with your blogging friend Laurie and thank you so much for the mention too! 💖 xxx
My pleasure! And what a lovely time we had.
Definitely an event to be thankful for! So glad Judy gave you some Japanese forest grass. It’s not only beautiful but has a name that is ever-so-fun to say, “hakonechloa”. Some folks accent the first syllable, others (me included) accent the second. I like how it rolls off your tongue. Enjoy!
Not sure I can pronounce that but I sure do love the plant and am so excited to add it to my garden.
Judy sounds lovely. I haven’t read her posts yet but I have seen her comments here and on a few other blogs that I follow. Thank you for another wonderful reminder of jow much we have to be thankful for.
Judy’s blog is worth checking out. She’s a very good writer as well as master gardener.
Stonewall is a fun spot for lunch and goodies (hard to tear oneself away with pocketbook intact)!
Judy shared some terrific plants… I love Jap. grass. It will be happy in your yard.
Thanks for adding my link as well. 🙏🏼 🙂
Stonewall is a fun spot for lunch. Didn’t even look around the shop. That’s how I avoided temptation. 😉
Smart woman! 😉
How lovely! Looks such an excellent day. Thanks for the mention.
My pleasure! It was an excellent day.
Lovely for you two to get together again, and when you are given plants as gifts you remember your friend every time you go into the garden. 😁😊
Exactly right! Such a lovely way to remember a friend.
A lot to be thankful about as you say.
Yes, indeed!
How lovely to meet up with one of your blogging buddies. Your lunch looks very healthy … 🙂
Lovely, indeed! And not only was lunch healthy, but it was also delicious. A winning combination.
I can’t think of anything more worthy of gratitude: a face-to-face visit with a blogging friend, a charming place to dine, and shared gardening interests. Nirvana!!
You bet! Such a nice day.
When I hear stories like this it makes me love women in general. Cheers to you and Judy sharing a real connection and your many talents, as women do!
Thanks so very much! Hope to meet you some day.
I thoroughly enjoy these uplifting posts of yours!
A-w-w-w, thanks so much! I enjoy writing them.
Sounds like you had a great day with your blogging buddy! Friendship – whether in the flesh or over the internet – is definitely something to be thankful for.
You bet! So fun to meet a blogging friend. And wonderful to have many more via the internet.
Certainly to be thankful for – as are all these friendships even though we only actually meet a few
Yes, yes! Sometimes I daydream about taking a trip around the world to meet all my wonderful blogging friends. I would stay in hotels or B&Bs and treat you all to lunch or dinner. And spouses and partners, too. If you’re going to dream, you might as well dream big. 😉
Yep. Although you’d have to stay with us
A-w-w-w, so nice!
Meeting up with friends is so important for me too. And lunch out is a real treat. That cafe sounds lovely – I want to be offered interesting freshly made food and not to have anyone rushing me out so they can get another customer in.
Right! That’s one of the reasons we chose Stonewall Cafe. We knew we could sit and chat as long as we wanted.
Cheers to the two of you not only meeting, but getting together for a second time. That in itself is high praise about the quality people each of you must be. One of the keys to life is surrounding oneself with the right people. Well done … and nice lunch!
I think this will be a yearly event. I wish other bloggers could join us, but unfortunately, I think we are too far north.
Hoping it becomes an annual tradition.
PS: Off topic – This is something that many blog owners don’t know happens on their blogs – but encounter it when commenting on others. After readers submit their comment, a “Subscription” popup box appears. This is something WP added (and annoys many). I recently learned how to remove it.
If you want to disable it, go to your Dashboard, then Settings > Newletter …. In the first box, turn off “Enable subscription pop-up for commenters” …. then Save.
Thanks for the advice.
Salad and scone looks perfect for lunch. It’s time for pumpkin recipes. Regular exercise will help you for sure. Hope you get to meet her and others more often.
So fun to meet blogging friends. If ever you come to Maine…
Ah! you are so kind and if you travel to Norway 😊
A lovely outing with your plant-loving blogger friend! One techie innovation I have appreciated is Picture This, a free app that has helped me identify many flowers, trees, and interesting weeds.
It was a lovely outing! I will be checking out Picture This. Sounds like an excellent app.
It tries to trick you into the paying part by hiding the “cancel” button, but you absolutely do not have to pay.
I have heard athletes talk about this – they don’t use willpower to train, they use habit. My kids did it too – it just becomes second nature so force yourself for a few weeks and it should become easier. Can you believe I am offering advice about exercise? I can’t . . .
Excellent advice, and I think you’re exactly right. Before breakfast seems to work for me. Then it’s done and I don’t have to worry about it.
When the kids wanted to train seriously we had a talk – I said I would provide transport but that they must be ready and make no excuses – all changes had to be planned so there was no element of “can’t be bothered tonight”. It seemed to work, they established good habits and we never had a problem. But remember, as coaches always say – “it only takes a fortnight to break a habit” (that;s two weeks – not all Americans understand “fortnight”. 🙂
I do know about fortnight, and, alas, I also know about breaking a habit. Always, the good ones, it seems. Somehow the bad ones are harder to break. 😉
Good ones are habits, I suspect bad ones are addictions. Good to hear you are bilingual. Is it a commonly used word in the US? Some people seem to have trouble with it. In UK some people have trouble with sennight, but that’s dialect rather than mainstream English.
So many things to be thankful for this week and how wonderful to have such a lovely lunch and visit with a blogging friend!!🙂
You bet! What a lovely day.
Yes, there is so much to be thankful for in this life! Good friends are among them, and I am glad you and Judy live close enough to be have been able to get together for a visit.
Do you remember Wavy Gravy (real name Hugh Romney)? Rick and I watched a documentary on him a few years ago. I remember him saying that every morning he vowed to be the best Wavy Gravy he could be that day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wavy_Gravy
Wonderful to meet blogging friends! If ever you come to Maine…
I have heard of Wavy Gravy, but I don’t know much about him. Will click on the link when I am done with this message. But that’s a wonderful way to start the day.
Just read the wiki piece about him. Quite a guy!
He was also a good friend of Kate Wolf.
I read about your outing with Judy with great delight: the meeting of like minds, hanging out and enjoying each other. A very good way to start my Saturday morning!
Such a fun day, and I’m glad my post got your Saturday off to a good start.
Sounds like another lovely visit with blogging friends, Laurie. Good food, conversation, and a couple of plants! Doesn’t get better than that!
You bet! What a lovely day.
How wonderful to meet up with a blogging friend. I’ve actually met a few of my blogging friends in real life, one of them I’ve met at six different times through the 12 years we’ve known each other. We’ve met in different states as well during our life’s journeys. Thank you for your up-lifting post. Have a great new week!
Yes, so wonderful to meet with blogging friends. Such a treat.
Hi, Laurie. How lovely that you and Judy met for lunch and shared so many delights. Good luck with your new plants and your exercise commitment. And I’ll see YOU in a few weeks!
A wonderful time with Judy and I am so looking forward to our get together.
And thanks for mentioning my blog!
My pleasure!
What a treat meeting up with a fellow blogger. I love the idea of Thankful Thursday. Your salad and scone look yummy.
Yes, yes! A wonderful treat. The salad was especially good.
There is much here to be grateful for, Laurie. Thank you for the reminder that it’s the little moments and gestures that make up our lives, and to try to make them as meaningful and positive as possible.
My pleasure! Thanks so much for the kind words. Yes, it’s the little moments and gestures that add up. If we are only pleased by big things, then our lives won’t be very happy.